Throughout his life, the king has, from time to time and in the right circumstances, stepped back allowed others to seek the limelight and learned from holding back.
"Once upon a time, there was a wise man who chose to hold back."
The notion of holding back
Being cautious and disinclined to act or to do more than what is strictly necessary. Being modest and reluctant to draw attention to oneself. In relation to Executive Presence, holding back can be a weakness as well as a strength.
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According to the definition above, it is clearly a weakness if a communicator holds back. In other cases, however, it can be a strength to make room for others. In many situations, a transformative person should take the lead – and in some cases she should step back. In the latter cases the transformative person makes sure to bring everybody along by handing the baton to other competent individuals who have or seize the initiative in a given situation. Thus, being transformative also means including others by sometimes holding back.